An estimated 2,500 lawyers from Rwanda and Burundi will be allowed to practice in the country if a draft Bill before the National Assembly becomes law.
The Advocates (Amendment) Bill, 2023 sponsored by Marakwet West MP Timothy Kipchumba Toroitich seeks to give Rwanda and Burundi lawyers similar treatment as their Uganda and Tanzania counterparts.
The objective of the draft Bill is to amend the Advocates Act Cap 16 so as to include citizens of Rwanda and Burundi as being eligible for admission as advocates in Kenya subject to them having the requisite professional and academic qualifications.
"The Bill will promote the implementation of the East African Community Common Market," Toroitich told the Budget and Appropriations Committee on Thursday.
Lawyers from the two countries who wish to practice in the country will be required to pay a subscription and admission fees.
The Bill says they will pay an admission fee of Sh1,000 and an annual subscription fee of Sh2,000 to the Law Society of Kenya.
Budget and Appropriations Committee chair Ndindi Nyoro said Kenya will gain with the passage of the Bill.
"Kenya is a big brother in the region. If the big brother is cooperative, then the region will grow," he said.
Khwisero MP Christopher Aseka wondered whether Rwanda and Burundi will reciprocate if the Bill is passed.
"How sure are we that If we pass the Bill, Rwanda and Burundi will do the same," Aseka posed.
In Kenya, advocates are admitted by the Chief Justice who hears their petition for admission and grants them an order to the individual as an Advocate.
The Council of Legal Education and Law Society of Kenya has the right to an audience during the hearing of the petition.
Once the order is granted, the individual takes an oath or makes an affirmation as an officer of the court before the Chief Justice and signs the Roll of Advocates before the Chief Registrar.
It is an offence to practice law in Kenya without an admission as an advocate of the High Court.
Members of the public are also advised to seek legal services from persons who are admitted as advocates.
The common Market Protocol of the East African Community provides for the integration of professional services including legal services in the community.
Most of the countries that are a party to the agreement have no objection to the integration of professional services including legal services in the community.
The Bill says that the fact that the two countries are members of the East African Community, they should be accorded equal treatment as Ugandans and Tanzanians.
This is the third time the Kenyan Parliament has pushed for the amendment of the Bill to allow the advocates from the two countries to practice in Kenya.
The Bill elapsed in the 12th parliament and was therefore not conclusively considered by the House.
Rwandan and Burundian advocates were in 2019 locked out from practising locally, which MPs said contravenes the spirit of the EAC.
Parliament first opened the doors for lawyers from Rwanda and Burundi to practice in Kenya through the Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendment) Act 2012, which amended Sections 12 and 13 of the Advocates Act but the Court of Appeal struck out the changes.
The Law Society of Kenya had opposed the MPs’ move and sued the Attorney-General, arguing the amendment that opened up trade in legal services for non-Kenyans without reciprocal access for Kenyan advocates was a violation of Parliament’s legislative powers.
